The new ACU

[Cobrahistorian]

ACUs suck. A2CUs are worse.

[TS Allen]

I'll chime in with my opinion of ACU's. I'll preface this account by noting that I'm just a high school cadet, probably going to West Point next year but a JROTC cadet now nonetheless.

 

My Battalion was allowed to keep our BDU's until last year, the absolute last wear-out date for BDU's. We liked them. Getting patches sewn on for cadets isn't so much of a pain as we don't have name tapes and cadet rank is pin-on on field uniforms (I get promoted about twice a year as an officer, EM's get promoted about four times a year, so sew-on would be insane). Despite options to transition to ACU's, the opinion of my cadets was always that (1) BDU's were more comfortable, (2) BDU's were more badass (we're teenagers, that means a lot to us!) and (3) ACU's were a positive evil.

 

We did a color guard for a football game in ACU's last year to showcase our "new" uniforms. No one in the Battalion had worn them before, but I had the S-4 issue them out to the cadets on the CG. The CG looked great, and we also didn't get in trouble for it. It wasn't exactly authorized except by our Senior Army Instructor, and the Superintendent, a West Point grad, was there and we half expected to get chewed out. Anyway, the CG generated some positive feelings for ACU's. The cadets decided they looked really cool, especially when worn with berets. I personally realized that ACU's were very comfortable when I wore mine to the game after we finished up stowing the CG gear. I also discovered that the sleeve pockets were horrible, as I kept on losing my cell phone in them.

 

This year, our Raiders team (basically, our field training team) transitioned from BDU's to ACU's. We were sad to see our BDU's go, but, we decided to not raise too much of a fuss as we couldn't do anything about it anyway.

 

What we soon discovered is that ACU's suck. The biggest problem was that they are HOT. We're located in Southern Florida and sleeve-rolling was something we did in December. The fact that we have to be strict on keeping cadets from rolling their sleeves up is even worse. Before we do any running I always check my cadets to make sure they've made their ACU's as open as allowable, because otherwise, they get massively overheated.

 

ACU's constantly rip. The trousers are comfortable, but every time I try to open the pockets one of the velco patches comes off. I'm seriously considering sewing buttons into my trousers and hoping my AI doesn't notice. The little ankle pockets are a nice touch, but, once again, the velcro is horrible.

 

Speaking of pockets, all of the pockets on the ACU are horrible. I don't mind the sleeve pockets so much, although they're worse than BDU pockets. The sheer number of them is staggering, and frankly, I lose stuff in them. My SAI constantly whines about the number of pockets as well, they're a pain in the butt. They're mostly empty at any given time, anyway. The idea that you need sleeve pockets because your chest pockets are covered when you're in body armor is silly to me, as anyone wearing body armor has plenty of pouches and such they can use. The sleeve pockets on mine are also about to rip off entirely. :thumbdown:

 

I think the army got four things right about the ACU. (1) The boots are comfortable and give a lot of options to soldiers based on preference, (2) the belt is just better, (3) the tan undershirt is better and (4) the patrol cap is a better pattern. I love the ACU roughouts, I wear mine every day and I'm darn proud of the fact that they're as worn as anyone's in the Army (and probably in dire need of replacement! ). The belt is better for two reasons: (1) that it is more expedient in field conditions, you can link a lot of them together very easily and do a lot with them, and (2) it is far more comfortable, especially if you have a Swiss Seat on.

 

Anyway, I'll shut up now and go try to find a place to scream about them getting rid of the greens. They really oughtta go back to the 1895 pattern officer's sack coat with nothing but rank, branch, and voluntary ribbons. Cadets at West Point still use a grey version, and it's popular. EM's could wear a new version of the M1902 blues.

 

TTFN,

 

C/MAJ TS Allen

[korea drab]

Is this the origin of the digital(actualy pumkin) ACU pattern? Just joking,this grew in my garden last year! Similarity? :think:

[Francis Marion]

The ACU (pronounced I-See-Yous) are the worst uniform in the US Army history and they are already talking about replacing it.

http://www.military.com/news/article/army-...?ESRC=army-a.nl